In the interdimensional city of Cabochon, individuals with nascent mental powers are trained to become psychics, with uncanny abilities including telekinesis, mind reading, and extrasensory perception. Psychics serve a variety of roles in the city, acting as investigators and magistrates for Cabochon's High Council as well as as enforcers and advisors to various executives in the Noble Companies which control commerce within the city. The talent is rare and the training is arduous, so they are few in number, but their prestige is great, as is their relative influence upon the workings of the city.

Typically, a Cabochon Psychic is selected as he or she enters puberty, when the talent emerges and is detectable. Once apprenticed, the novice psychic has his or her head shaved and a blue star is tatooed upon his or her forehead, above one eye. A Psychic Master may have a handful of such Psychic Apprentices who have been identified as talented; after a period of training and service to the master, the apprentice undergoes an examination by a panel of Masters. An apprentice who passes the examination (which involves telepathic probing of the examinee) is then certified as an Adept by the examining panel. The Adept is sworn to defend the city, to use his or her powers with wisdom, compassion, and humility, and never to lie about what has been revealed to him or her by those powers (this applies more strongly to sensitives and telepaths than to psychokineticists).

A Psychic Adept is free to seek employment in a variety of occupations, mostly determined by custom, and to develop his or her powers to the point where the Adept can be certified as a Psychic Master by another examining panel. The Master may then take on apprentices, and the cycle begins anew.

In some quarters of the City, psychics are feared as agents of the High Council; among other segments of the population, they are regarded with deferential reverence. Some psychics become "Rogue Adepts," having broken their Ethical Vows and used their powers to harm or for self-aggrandizement.

Psychic powers are purchased as a Variable Power Pool (a "Psionics Pool") whose powers are manipulated by a variety of psionic Knowledge Skills, or "Psi Skill." Each Psi Skill is appropriate for creating certain types of powers.

PSI Psychokinesis (Telekinesis, EB, RKA, Flight, and other "telekinesis tricks")
PSI Telepathy (Ego Attack, Mind Control, Mental Illusions, Mind Link, Telepathy, Mind Scan)
PSI Sensitivity (Clairsentience, Danger Sense, and Enhanced Senses)

There are other Psi Skills representing highly specialized powers, like the ability to perform "psionic surgery" to alter a subject's psychological make-up, memories, and cognitive abilities. Generally, these "psi specialties" allow one or two related powers to be used in the pool.

The control cost of a Psionics Pool is typically purchased with the following limitations:

Psionics Control Limitations: Only to change to powers indicated by appropriate Psi skill (-1/4); takes full phase to change (-1/4). Total Limitation (-1/2).

A typical apprentice with a 20 point pool pays 15 control points, for 35 real points. A typical adept has a 40 point pool and 30 control points, for a 70 real points. And a typical master has a 60 point pool plus 45 control points, for a total of 105 real points. The total real cost of the powers of the pool, and the active point cost of any one power within it, may not exceed the pool cost.

Note that, compared to magic, psychic powers have the advantage of greater flexibility and ease of use, but the disadvantage of lower power levels per real point cost. This seems to be a reasonable trade-off.

Psychic manuever is a concept borrowed from The Ultimate Mentalist supplement, albeit in slightly modified form. Essentially, each psychic manuever is purchased, much like a martial arts manuever, to enable the character to perform some task, or to modify the effects of a task, in a particular way. Psionic specialties may include other psychic manuevers as well.

Cabochon Psychic Apprentice

Cabochon Psychic Adept

Cabochon Psychic Master